


I'm already in too deep

by MaJe



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Falling In Love, Getting Together, Pining, dog breeder!yamaguchi, police officer!ennoshita
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 09:46:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14102727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaJe/pseuds/MaJe
Summary: Tadashi knew falling in love wasn't part of his job's description, but it was exactly what was happening.





	I'm already in too deep

**Author's Note:**

> Big thanks to Yamagusheep/jesusasahi on tumblr for proofreading this for me.
> 
> I started this fic in June 2016 and only now finished it, don't judge me.
> 
> P.S.: I only did minimum research so...
> 
> P.P.S.: Kudos to anyone who knows where the dog's name comes from x)
> 
> P.P.P.S.: Almost titled that fic love at first bark because I find myself funny

Ruffling through the paper strewn on his desk, Tadashi tried to find the note with the details about that day’s appointment. He knew some police officer would come to adopt a police dog, but he couldn’t remember the name of the man, nor the time he was supposed to get here.

Tadashi raised his head, trying to see if someone had come in while he was cursing himself for being so disorganised. After being certified as a breeder, he had managed to buy this farm from a retiring couple. It was small, but the garden was big enough for him to raise dogs, and it served as a living place, too, so it was perfect. However, he was working alone, so the reception tended to be messy, especially the desk he was currently sitting at. He might need to search for volunteers…

A sigh escaped his lips, his best friend was right: he wasn’t organised enough. Maybe he should buy a computer, it’d make finding the right files easier… probably.

The door opened, creaking. Tadashi made a mental note to go buy some oil. He stopped what he was doing and focused on the person that had just entered, noticing his police uniform first. 

_ Well, that must be my appointment… _

His gaze traveled to the policeman’s face. He had really appealing features, his short, black hair looked soft, and his dark eyes were warm and gentle. Tadashi did his best to not let his gaze travel across the policeman’s muscled body, enhanced by the tight fit of his uniform. He was not supposed to check out customers.

“Hello, I had an appointment. You must be Yamaguchi-san?”

Tadashi stood up, nodding his head once.

“Yes, that’s me.”

The man smiled, and bowed politely.

“I’m Ennoshita Chikara, nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Tadashi answered with a shy smile. He took a deep breath.  _ Focus, Tadashi, you can do it, it’s your work and you know what you’re doing. _ “Let’s go see the dogs? We’ll fill the paperwork once we know for sure one of them is to your liking.”

The policeman nodded and followed Tadashi. He took him to a room where a dog was looking over her litter. Tadashi breathed slowly to focus on his task before speaking.

“As I said when we took the appointment, the dogs are still too young to leave their mother yet, but you can visit and if you want I can teach you basic training. It will help to form a bond between you and your dog.”

Chikara nodded, smiling at the dogs.

“They’re cute…. Can I choose the dog, or are some of them reserved?”

“I didn’t put them up for adoption yet,” he started, anxious. “I learnt to breed with smaller dogs, and it’s my first time with German shepherds, so I want to be sure there’s nothing wrong with their health. You can pick any one you like but maybe… get to know them before you make your choice?”

Tadashi sat next to the dogs. He motioned for Chikara to do the same, and soon the policeman was sitting before him, cross-legged. While most puppies kept playing together, two came to scent them. Tadashi let them, showing his palm before petting them. The policeman stayed still, watching the excited puppies bouncing around them.

“Don’t be afraid to pet them,” Tadashi said as he raised his head to look at Chikara. 

It was kind of amusing to see the policeman looking so lost, surrounded by puppies, and Tadashi wondered what was going on in his head to make him so hesitant. He watched as Chikara carefully got closer to the calmest dog, showing his palm like Tadashi. There was something that made his heart swell, seeing a figure of authority--with great, buff arms if he may add--going all soft before puppies. 

“You’re not used to this, are you?” Tadashi commented, distractedly petting the dog that climbed into his lap.

The policeman nodded and finally put his hand on the puppy’s head.

“I never had animals growing up so… I guess I’m scared of doing something that’ll set them off.”

“That’s why you went for a calm dog,” Tadashi smiled.

The chuckle that came out of Chikara’s lips was light, it made him feel warm.

“Yeah,” he answered, “wrong move and I could end up slapping them. Didn’t want that.”

That made sense and explained why he had been so stiff. To put him at ease, Tadashi carefully picked up the puppy in his lap and bought it closer to the man.

“This one’s a nice girl. She’s curious about the world, but she calms down quickly. She’s not as shy as than the one you pet, so maybe she’ll be more suited to be a police dog?”

Tadashi put the dog down just before the policeman, who once again let the dog sent him. Once she was satisfied, she laid down, her head in his lap, and Chikara finally pet her, smiling.

“You’re right, she seems nice.”

“I’m not trying to force you to take her, you know! I just wanted to put you at ease with more lively dogs.”

“I know,” Chikara looked up from the dog, smiling at Tadashi, and he felt his heart beat faster. “I’m going to see how the other dogs react, but I’m pretty sure she’ll still be my favourite.”

Tadashi nodded, speechless, and tried to regain his composure while the policeman got acquainted with the other puppies.

_ You’re a professional Tadashi, it’s already bad that you checked him out, don’t crush on him, don’t, just… don’t. _   
\---   
“Tsukkiiiiiiiiii…”

Tadashi plopped down on his couch, throwing his head back. Through the phone, he could hear his best friend sigh, but he knew it was mostly for show. No matter what happened, Kei was always there for him, even if he showed his support strangely most of the time.

“Don’t tell me you lost your key again…”

“Hey!” Tadashi pouted, even though Kei couldn’t see him. “That was one time, it served as a lesson. I know where I put my things! Or, well, mostly I do… too much paperwork.”

“Sounds like you,” his friend answered, and Tadashi could picture him smiling. “So, what’s wrong then?”

“Remember that appointment I had today?”

“With some policeman, right? Did something happen?”

“Right.” Tadashi took a deep breath, already embarrassed by what he was going to say. He kind of felt like a teenager all over again. “Well, it’s just… he is so nice, Tsukki, and he has such a warm smile.” On the other end of the phone, Kei groaned. “And he was really careful with the dogs, it was so cute. Oh! And his arms… oh my god, Tsukki, he has such nice arms… I really want to know what it’s like to be held in them. Oh, and to have him sweet-talk me, he has such a beautiful voice!”

“Yamaguchi… did you call me to gush about a crush?”

“I know!” Tadashi brought a hand to his face, trying to hide his embarrassment. “But I’ll have to see him again to make sure things will go well with the dog he chose, and when I think about it… oh my god, I got it bad, right?”

“Well, it’s been a long time since you last met someone… but this is your job, Yamaguchi, you have to stay professional.”

“I know, I know, but Tsukki… you  _ really _ haven’t seen those arms.”

At that, Kei hung up.   
\---   
It was just a few days after that Chikara came back to see his future dog again, and even if they had an appointment, Tadashi was not prepared. Especially when he saw the outfit the policeman wore that day.

While his uniform made his frame, and especially his toned arms, stand out, his casual outfit tended to completely hide his muscles. His stature had looked kind of intimidating the first time they saw each other, yet Chikara now looked… soft, oozing kindness. If he hadn’t spoken, Tadashi could have stayed all day watching him, waxing poetries about how he looked like home.

“Hello Yamaguchi-san. Thank you again for letting me see the dogs.”

“It’s no problem! It’s nice to have company, the dogs aren’t really talkative,” Tadashi answered, trying to go for casual. He smiled at a chuckling Chikara, trying to ignore the pounding in his ribcage, and motioned for him to follow him. “I finished feeding them not too long ago, they should be done now.”

Chikara was following him closely, but Tadashi was trying to focus on unlocking the back door, willing himself to not look at the policeman from the corner of his eyes. Outside, Tadashi was lucky to have a fairly big garden, with a fence high enough that the dogs couldn’t get out and run away. The dogs were playing together but stopped once they got to their level, and instead gathered around the two to get their attention.

Tadashi absentmindedly petted them, and looked at Chikara instead. He seemed less awkward than the last time, less scared to touch them, and even smiled widely when the dog he had chosen came to get his attention. 

“Have you thought of a name yet?”

He nodded, looking up at Tadashi.

“I looked into it. I really like the name Laika… think it’s good?”

“That’s perfect. I’ll start calling her that.” 

Tadashi then picked up Laika, grunting a bit. She was getting too big, and soon he wouldn’t be able to carry her anymore.

“Let’s go back inside and let the other dogs here. We don’t want her to be distracted….”   
\---   
Their first introduction to training was going smoothly. It was mostly getting her used to a collar and fetching things, Tadashi was in no way qualified to train a police dog. Chikara had told him her specific training had already been planned when he came to choose Laika. Tadashi had felt embarrassed, feeling like he was wasting the man’s time, but Chikara had been quick to reassure him, telling him that his training was like an introductory course. 

“The material is good, as is the teacher,” he had said, and ever since, Tadashi’s hopeless crush on Chikara went from “he’s totally my type” to “he makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside”.

He tried to just get rid of those feelings and did his best to be really professional the second time Chikara came to see how Laika was doing. But then they had a heartfelt discussion about why Chikara was getting his own police dog. And Tadashi just couldn’t erase Chikara’s fond look when he told him he had always wanted to have a dog growing up, but couldn’t because of his mom’s allergies. So when the police station said they wanted to hire a dog handler, he had asked if he could be trained to become one instead. Tadashi didn’t know if you could fall in love with someone this quickly, but he was already in too deep.

The killing blow happened the third time Chikara came by for training.

The dog was growing up healthy and would soon be ready to leave her mom. So when the training ended, he told Chikara that the next time he would finally go home with her. His reaction was not the one Tadashi expected.

“Oh, that’s good.”

He looked down at Laika, and his smile looked pretty sad to Tadashi. Maybe he was having second thoughts…. Maybe he realized that having a dog at work, and taking care of it at home were two different things. And as a breeder, Tadashi couldn’t bear to let one of his dogs go, for the owner to realize later that they couldn’t handle it. 

“Ennoshita-san, is everything alright? You don’t really look happy about it….”

Chikara immediately locked eyes with him, looking surprised by his comment.

“I am! It’s just…. Well, you see…” he hesitated for a while, before squaring his shoulders and smiling at Tadashi. “It’s just that I won’t have a reason to see you anymore…”

To say that Tadashi was taken aback was an understatement. Did it mean that Chikara was interested too, or was he looking too much into this? It was overwhelming, thinking about that possibility, so overwhelming that Tadashi forgot to answer, and Chikara sighed, looking at him with a dejected face.

Chikara must have taken his silence the wrong way, because he said, “Sorry, that was uncalled for, I shouldn’t have said that. I’ll take my leave now.”

Tadashi did try to call for him once the words registered, but either he didn’t ear, or he didn’t want to hear his excuses, because he left before Tadashi had time to explain himself.

He had screwed up big time…   
\---   
“I’m pretty sure you’re being overdramatic…” Kei sighed over the phone.

Tadashi, who was laying down on his couch, sat up abruptly. 

“You don’t understand Tsukki. I made him think that I wasn’t interested in him. And I’m totally interested, I mean, who wouldn’t be! He looks amazing and he’s nice… and I just stood there instead of, I don’t know, asking him out on a date?”

“Yamaguchi, calm down,” Kei instructed. That made him stop, and feel a bit bad for his best friend. He could imagine him rubbing his temple. “You’re panicking because you feel like you missed your chance, but it’s not like you did.”

Tadashi took a while to consider, slowly realizing what Kei meant. This didn’t mean he wasn’t feeling insecure about it.

“Even if I try to… confess, next time he comes, what if I already broke his heart and he doesn’t want to see me anymore?” he asked, his voice almost too small to be heard.

“If he’s as nice as you made him out to be, I’m sure that won’t happen.”   
\---   
Tadashi looked at the clock for what felt like the tenth time in the last fifteen minutes. Only five more and Chikara would be here to pick up Laika, and he could put his plan into action. If it could be classified as a plan…

Laika was at his feet, playing with an old squeaky toy, when the door creaked open. He made sure to hold her leash so she wouldn’t run out the door, before looking up. Chikara didn’t look that different from usual, but Tadashi had observed him enough to know that his smile was strained. He had to fix this.

“Hello Ennoshita-san,” he greeted as he got up to give him the leash. “How are you feeling about today?”

Chikara looked down at Laika sitting at his feet, still playing with her toy, and smiled.

“Anxious. I double-checked everything on the list of stuff I’ll need, but I’m scared I forgot something essential.”

“That was a pretty thorough list, I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Tadashi smiled at him, and gave him a folder. “That’s for your boss, the papers about the adoption.”

Chikara thanked him, putting the folder under his arm, and looked like he wanted to say something more. But Tadashi didn’t let him, handing him an envelope.

“And that… that’s for you.”

He wordlessly took it, turning it around to inspect the blank envelope. It was stressful, watching Chikara’s perplexed face, waiting for him to open it. So stressful, Tadashi was fidgeting with his hands. He was pretty sure his heart was trying to get out of his ribcage, and it only worsened when Chikara finally took the letter out.

“This…” Tadashi started, the sound of Laika’s squeaky toy too nerve-wracking for his taste.

“This is a list of all the date ideas I had since meeting you…”

Chikara looked up, staring straight at him with wide eyes.

“Maybe I’m reaching too much and you only meant that you wanted to see me as a friend, but…” he looked down, not able to stand his gaze anymore and focusing on Laika instead. “If I have a chance, I don’t want to miss it.”

“I…” Chikara started, and Tadashi braced himself, hoping he wouldn’t be rejected. “I really want to take you on a date. All those ideas look great.”

It was like a weight was lifted off his shoulder. He looked at Chikara’s soft smile, and it was enough to have him grin.

“Really?”

Chikara chuckled and made to read over the list.

“I’m really looking forward to the cuddling in front of a movie date, but maybe I should take you out for dinner first.”

“Yes please!” Tadashi almost shouted. Startled, Laika dropped her toy and stood to attention, wondering what was wrong. “I mean, I would love that,” he amended, embarrassed. Luckily for him, Chikara still had that soft look on his face.

“How does tomorrow evening sounds?”

Tadashi couldn’t believe his luck, and he was pretty sure his smile would be permanently etched on his face.

“Sounds like a date.”   



End file.
